Crackdown on Ford Foundation smacks of political vendetta: New York Times

By A Representative
"The New York Times" (NYT), one America's most influential dailies, has come down heavily on the Government of India (GoI) clampdown on Ford Foundation, calling it "India’s chilling crackdown." Qualifying Ford Foundation as "among the world’s best-known charitable organizations, dispensing billions of dollars globally for projects aimed at reducing poverty, fighting injustice, improving education and advancing democracy", it said the GoI move is simply "alarming".
"It was alarming when India’s Ministry of Home Affairs last month placed the foundation, which has made $500 million in grants to organizations in India since 1952, on a national security watch list", the NYT (May 7) said in an editorial approved by its powerful editorial board, adding, "That means it cannot give money to Indian groups without permission from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government."

The editorial comes close on the heels of the US state department and US ambassador in India, Richard Verma expressing "serious concern" over the clampdown on Ford Foundation and Greenpeace India saying it did not portend good for India's democracy.

And now, the German Ambassador to India Micheal Steiner added his voice to what the "Time" weekly called "the growing discontent over the Indian government's treatment of international NGOs", saying that "the South Asian nation needed to show more support to the groups."

"The move shook the donor community and triggered fears of a broader crackdown on civic activism — fears quickly realized when the government canceled the registration of nearly 9,000 foreign-funded civic and nongovernmental groups", said the NYT.

Pointing out that "the Ford case smacks of political payback", the NYT noted, "The listing stems from a complaint by the Gujarat State government about the Sabrang Trust, a private group that has received grants from Ford."
The daily recalled, "The trust, its founder, Teesta Setalvad, and her husband have worked on behalf of victims of sectarian riots in Gujarat in 2002, when Modi was chief minister. They have also sought to bring charges against Modi for enabling the violence, which left more than 1,000 people dead."
Yet, the NYT said, "The state asked the ministry to investigate the trust for 'disturbing the communal harmony here and carrying out anti-national propaganda against India in foreign countries'."
The NYT further said, "The state had previously accused Setalvad and her husband of embezzling funds meant for a museum to honor the riot victims. Their advocates say they are victims of a political vendetta."
Particularly taking exception to the view taken by "an Indian official" who has described Ford and Greenpeace, which is now facing closure in India, as agents of Western strategic interests", the NYT said, "Although democratic India is a far cry from Russia, China and Egypt, similarly chilling talk was heard when authoritarian leaders in those countries moved to crush civic activism."
The daily warned, "Modi has an ambitious agenda to lift millions of people out of poverty and play a bigger role on the world stage." But "he almost certainly cannot attract the investment he needs while imposing a repressive social order and devaluing India’s greatest asset, a robust democracy."

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi).

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Madhav Gadgil: The ecologist who taught India to listen to nature

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Among the exceptional individuals who laid the intellectual and scientific foundations of environmental conservation in India—and challenged the dominant development discourse—Professor Madhav Dhondo Keshav Gadgil stands as a towering figure. He was not only a pioneering ecologist, but also among the first to view environmental protection through the lens of democracy, local communities and social justice.

Search This Blog